Week in review: Whitney Houston, Gary Carter top the news

Follow the link to see our roundup of the top national and international news stories of the week.

Wayne Post

Writer

Posted Feb. 19, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 19, 2012 at 7:01 PM

Posted Feb. 19, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 19, 2012 at 7:01 PM

News of the week

Here are the top news stories from the past week:

- Authorities said Wednesday that they are looking into prescriptions Whitney Houston was taking. They have contacted her doctors and pharmacists in order to see how much and what Houston was taking. So far, police said, there are no signs that Houston was filling multiple prescriptions.

- "Oh, no, this is accidental. She wouldn't have left her daughter like that. She wouldn't have done that to her daughter." - Billy Watson, Whitney Houston’s brother in law, talking to ABCNews.com about the singer’s death.

"She did not seem disheveled. She was dancing, she was laughing. ... We were having a good time. What I saw on Thursday night was not erratic behavior. I didn't see someone who was high." - Kelly Price, who sang with Houston at a party two days before Houston’s death.

Officials said Monday that Houston’s death is not being investigated as a homicide, but few other details were released. A full autopsy and toxicology report won’t be out for several more weeks.

- "When you think of the great baseball field generals, you think Gary Carter. He ran the game from behind the plate with strong leadership and passion. The Kid's contribution to our national pastime is big, but his heart was even bigger. We'll always remember his caring way, ever-present smile and strong devotion to family, community and the Baseball Hall of Fame." – Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson, talking about the death of 57-year-old Gary Carter. Carter was diagnosed last year with brain tumors and died Thursday.

- The payroll tax cut extension was approved for the rest of 2012 by both houses of Congress on Friday, and President Barack Obama has said he will sign the bill. The extension will keep the payroll tax rate at 4.2 percent instead of the usual 6.2 percent.

- “Due to unforeseen circumstances, the show will air repeat episodes on Wednesday, February 15 and Thursday, February 16.” – Statement from Comedy Central on “The Colbert Report.” The network isn’t saying more about why the show was called off this week, but speculation has run rampant on the Internet. Stephen Colbert’s sister show, “The Daily Show,” has suspended shows before for a death among the crew and for the birth of Jon Stewart’s daughter.

Page 2 of 2 - - The so-called “Underwear Bomber” was sentenced to life in prison Thursday. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airplane on Christmas 2009 for al-Qaida, but the bomb failed to go off.

- "And I said to him, 'The problem that presidents have is not the sin, it's the cover up and you should explore just telling the American people the truth.' He said, 'Really, do you think I could do that?' And I said, 'Let me test it, let me run a poll.' So I took a poll and I tested popular attitudes on that and I called him back and I said, 'They will forgive the adultery, but they won't easily forgive that you lied.'" – Dick Morris, talking about his conversations with Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Morris’ comments were made in the documentary “Clinton,” which will air next week on PBS.

Video of the week

A girl who crawled in an arcade game got stuck, and her rescue was caught on tape. Watch below.